Driver says ice that flew off truck, smashed windshield in Uxbridge "could have killed my wife"
MILLBURY - A Millbury man says it's fortunate he and his wife were not more seriously injured when a large sheet of ice crashed through their windshield while driving on Route 146 in Uxbridge. "Like that, two to three seconds it was that fast," said Bob Giannette.
All the damage left behind is now in the hands of a mechanic, but the emotion of the experience will take longer for Giannette to get over. He says what sounded like an explosion actually hit his van in a more fortunate spot.
"There's a foam-covered hood liner in there, that's what stopped the impact from hitting my wife's face," he said.
The ice came from a pickup truck traveling in front of him on Route 146 in Uxbridge. "It looked like a picture frame coming off the top of his truck and it got higher and higher," he said.
As it fell, he swerved to avoid it, and swerved back onto the highway, a motion that he believes helped their situation. "If it was one inch lower it would have hit my wife's face and this would be a much different story," he said.
Giannette, a retired Millbury firefighter, is fighting terminal cancer and was on his way home from a chemotherapy appointment. He says in spite of the shattered glass adrenaline kicked in and he caught up with the driver who was cited.
But he keeps replaying the scenario over and over in his head. "If it hit the middle of the windshield, if I didn't swerve out of the way, it would have been different," he said.
As his wife recovers from cuts to her face and a concussion, he says he's speaking out hoping his story is a cautionary one for all drivers. "Clean your cars," Giannette said, "he could have killed my wife yesterday."
